Ronald J. Tabak, a tireless criminal justice and civil rights advocate, died on July 22, 2025, at age 75 (some tributes here, here, and here).
Ron joined the law firm of Skadden Arps in 1985 to launch and manage its formal pro bono program, directing critical law firm resources to ensuring competent representation of death-sentenced people.
A passionate opponent of capital punishment, Mr. Tabak fought against it in court — including achieving a Supreme Court victory in Francis v. Franklin — and developed expertise in intellectual disability as a categorical bar to execution. He was instrumental in securing Georgia inmate Johnny Lee Gates’ removal from death row after 26 years of litigation to establish Mr. Gates’ intellectual disability. (Fifteen years later, DNA evidence raised serious questions about his guilt, leading to his release.)
For over 30 years, Mr. Tabak chaired or co-chaired the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s Death Penalty Committee. He served on numerous other boards and committees, including serving as Special Advisor to the ABA Death Penalty Due Process Review Project. He was a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Capital Punishment Committee, and on the boards of the Death Penalty Information Center, New York Lawyers Against the Death Penalty, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
In honor of his remarkable lifetime of work, the Death Penalty Representation Project presented him with a special Leadership Award in 2019.
May his memory be a blessing.